house Alicia wanted, even though I’d hated it. I’d become a completely different person for her, but even that wasn’t enough.
I’d never forget walking into the Ritz in Boston for a meeting with a client and finding Alicia wrapped around my best friend, their mouths fused as the doors of an elevator closed. It was interesting how one single breath could make a house of cards fall. How you could suddenly realize that the foundation you’d been putting in place was actually set on sand.
Because as soon as Alicia disappeared from my life, so did a lot of other things. Friends had chosen sides, business associates had grown uncomfortable, and the newfound relationship with my parents had gone up in smoke. The truth was that none of what I had built while I was with Alicia was real. Now, I wouldn’t settle for anything less in any aspect of my life.
I gave my head a quick shake, trying to clear the memories. “Don’t call again, Alicia. We’re done. There’s nothing we need to talk about. I want no part of you in my life. If you call again, I’ll block you.” I hit End on my screen and dropped the phone with a satisfying thunk into the cupholder.
I pressed my hands against the wheel, the muscles in my arms bunching and straining as the wheel creaked. I wasn’t wrapped up in that life anymore. I never would be again. I was free. The life I had now had no constraints, no rules. I needed a reminder of that. I glanced at the clock on my dashboard. It was almost five-thirty. Too late to get any decent climbing or mountain biking in, but I had something else in mind anyway.
An electronic bell sounded as I pulled open the door to Cornerstone CPAs. It was a small building, nothing on Anchor was exactly huge, but it looked as if it housed quite a few offices. A young woman behind the front desk blinked a few times as she took me in. “Hello, can I help you? Crosby, right?”
“Yes, I’m looking for—”
“Mr. McCoy, it’s good to see you. Have you come to talk about bringing your business to Cornerstone? You know I’d be happy to take you on as a personal client.”
I winced at the man who’d stepped into the reception area. Chris Woodward, manager of this branch of Cornerstone, had come to see me not long after I’d settled on Anchor and set up my law office. I had no doubt that he’d heard I’d bought a house on the bluff and came from east coast money. The man had been smarmy and grasping. I’d been planning to find a local accountant, but two minutes with this man had me staying put with my CPA in Boston.
“Sorry, Chris. I’m here on personal business.” I sidestepped the man and headed through the open space dotted with cubicles, weaving through until I found one of the nicer offices with a familiar name on the door. I knocked.
“Come in.”
Of course, Kenna was one of the handful of people still here at a few minutes past six. I pushed the door open, and a healthy dose of lust shot through me at the sight of her. Kenna stood behind her desk, looking as if she’d been organizing papers into stacks. I’d seen Kenna in her work get-up before, and it was always tempting, but today’s outfit might just be the death of me. She’d lost her blazer at some point during the day, and it now hung neatly on a hanger on the side of a filing cabinet. Without it, she was left in a white blouse that dipped slightly in the front, strands of gauzy fabric tied in an oversize bow over her breasts.
All I could think about was what would happen if I gave one of the ends of that material a nice tug. Then there was the skirt. The bottom disappeared below her desk, so it had to go to her knees, but it was one of those deals that cut in, hugging her ass and thighs in a way that had all sorts of images flying through my brain. Fantasies the woman in front of me would surely deck me for.
“Crosby.” Pink hit Kenna’s cheeks. “What are you doing here?”
I swallowed hard, willing myself to get it together. “We’re going on our first adventure.”
She glanced at her watch. “It’s already after six, and I still have a few things to finish up